


A World Too Late

by MythicDragonRider



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: 'Why did he do this?', AU, Akechi never said pancakes, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Ask if you want something to be tagged, Betrayal, Blood, Everything's the same apart from that, Guns, Lots of Angst, Murder, Police Brutality, So he shot Akira without a hitch, Suicide, Western Name Order, What-If, stuff like that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-19 09:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11895276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythicDragonRider/pseuds/MythicDragonRider
Summary: Goro Akechi never slipped up. They never figured out he could understand Morgana at the TV station, and they never anticipated what he was to do.Akira Kurusu is dead. He died for real, and the whole world believes it was a suicide. Even the Phantom Thieves don't know what happened and are terrified of the possibility that he actually took his own life. But they aren't as weak as they were expected to be. Instead of going into hiding, they make plans on their next move and make a bold retaliation in an effort to show they are not defeated.While they try to find out what actually happened to Akira, more and more of the world they never really understood starts to unravel.





	1. Today's Breaking News

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, lovely readers!  
> I'm not sure if someone's done this what-if before, but even if they have I wanted to do my own take on it. I'm currently obsessed with Persona 5 and wanted to write something for it, and after going through many ideas I didn't quite have the motivation for, I finally settled on something I wanted to do. My apologies for any errors with characterisation or consistency, I've tried my best to make this an accurate and compelling story.
> 
> This was mostly prompted by Akechi's comment saying that the Phantom Thieves would be useless without their leader. Honestly, I feel like they'd be angry and passionate. The way that they are, they wouldn't just let the truth behind the matter fade away. They'd investigate it, and get to the bottom of why Akira had taken his life that day, or at least why that's what the news is reporting.
> 
> Since I haven't written for P5 yet, I will inevitably make some errors. Please point these out so I can enhance my story! I may not be able to fix all of them if they're connected to a major plot point, but I will try my best to fix them in any way that isn't detrimental to the narrative.  
> Okay, on with the show!

_Phantom Thieves Group  
Topic: Last Night_

_Futaba: we need to talk about this_

_Ann: God…_

_Yusuke: I still can't believe what happened._

_Haru: He'll be okay, right?_

_Makoto: The police surely couldn't force him into anything…_

_Ryuji: How the hell do we know?! They're corrupt, remember?_

_Makoto: There would be a video camera…_

_Haru: Could Futaba hack into it?_

_Futaba: its not that simple, it would take me way too long even if i tried_

_Yusuke: Could we recover the footage in another way?_

_Futaba: then youd have to actually get into the police station_

_Ann: All of this is just guessing, too…_

_Ryuji: This is effed up._

_Makoto: I think my sister will be questioning him…_

_Haru: Can we plan some sort of escape?_

_Ann: It'll be fine if he hasn't confessed, right?_

_Makoto: They already know his name and face… If we free him, he'll have to go into hiding._

_Yusuke: This is going nowhere. We should talk in person._

_Futaba: i guess youre right…_

_Makoto: This afternoon at the hideout?_

_Ann: I’ll have to cancel plans, but okay._

_Haru: See you guys there._

_(End of chat log.)_

Futaba Sakura put down her phone, staring up at the ceiling. Her wide array of computer screens were laid out before her, but she wasn't interested in what any of them were displaying. One of them showed a continuous news broadcast, and she was waiting for a certain person's name or face or even existence to show up on it. She wondered bitterly when they would announce the brave apprehension of the leader of the Phantom Thieves, parading around their 'justice' as worse things went on below the surface.  
There was something else on one of her monitors - the Phantom Aficionado website. She glanced at the poll, consistently going down. She wondered how it would fare once the news about Akira became public. It didn't even seem possible for it to go lower, but people always surprised her.

Futaba jumped when there was a knock on her door, and she heard the distinct voice of Sojiro, "Futaba, please tell me what happened. Where's Akira? Do I have to call the-"  
"No! Don't call the police," she replied, knowing she would have to tell him soon. She could just let him find out from the news report, but it felt rather cruel and impersonal just to leave it to that. Though he didn't show it all that often, Sojiro clearly cared about Akira more than he would admit. Futaba had been putting it off because she was scared of his reaction, but he needed to know. She nervously got up, and opened the door. He was looking at her with a stern yet somewhat worried expression.

Futaba sighed, "Last night… We were doing a mission for the Phantom Thieves."  
The name clearly made him tense up, and when she didn't seem eager to continue, he asked, "Is that it? What happened?"  
Steeling herself, she said, "Um… We were doing a mission. And we made a mistake, so he distracted the people trying to catch us, and, well… He got caught by the police."  
"He what?!" Sojiro exclaimed.  
"We don't know anything except that he's being questioned right now, we just need to wait and see what happens…" she said.  
After the initial shock, he frowned and sighed, "You've really screwed yourselves over, you know that? ...Do you think he's going to reveal your identities?"  
She shook her head, "There's no way. He's _Akira_."

Sojiro understood. He said, "Are the rest of you coming over?"  
"Yeah. This afternoon," she replied.  
His expression was troubled, "Be careful, okay? I don't want you getting into the same situation… Is he going to show up on the news? They may keep his identity a secret or even not announce it at all."  
"I don't know, none of us know. I've been keeping my eye on the news all day, they'll have to say something about it."  
Futaba looked down and started to close her door again, but not before Sojiro said, "Don't get arrested, kid."

\---

_Phantom Thieves Group  
Topic: Boss_

_Futaba: i told sojiro what happened_

_Haru: How did he react?_

_Futaba: ok… he's not angry or anything_

_Ryuji: That's good, at least._

_Ann: I don't think Boss had any chance of reacting badly._

_Futaba: well, i wasnt sure. when he found out about us being phantom thieves, he wasnt too impressed_

_Yusuke: At least this is one victory._

_Futaba: nobody asked you, inari_

_Makoto: Anyway, this topic made me wonder…_

_Makoto: Is there any chance Akira would reveal our identities?_

_Futaba: sojiro mentioned this. i dont think so, hes not that kind of person_

_Haru: Agreed._

_Ryuji: There's no chance in hell._

_Makoto: They could do something to force it out of him… It's the same with a confession._

_Makoto: I know a few of the things they do, and it's not pretty._

_Yusuke: I think he has enough willpower to pull through…_

_Ann: I trust him. He'd never do that._

_(End of chat log.)_

\---

When the afternoon came, the Phantom Thieves began to arrive at Leblanc. Instead of going up into Akira's room as they usually did, they sat in one of the booths. There was something a bit uncomfortable about it, now. Besides, there were no customers at that moment so they didn't have to worry about accidentally revealing their identities. Morgana had gone to Haru's house for the night, though Futaba did offer for him to stay at Sojiro's house. The man had made coffee for his daughter exclusively, remarking that there were too many of them and none were paying. The TV was louder than usual, and they could all hear the everyday news. It still seemed that it wasn't going public, which only made them feel more tense, as if something terrible had happened and the officials didn't want to tell the masses about it.

Ryuji was making short, stiff movements, "Can't they just announce it and get it over with?"  
Biting her lip, Makoto replied, "We can't rush it. They might announce it now, or announce it in a week. Maybe they want to question him first, or get a signed confession."  
"They don't have anything without a confession, right?" Morgana jumped onto the table.  
"Well, they caught him in the act, but the whole story is still a little hard to believe…" Haru noted.  
Morgana said, "Well, that's been bothering me - the whole catching him in the act thing. How did they know what to do? Is there someone in the police force with access to the Metaverse? Why haven't they used it until now?"

Makoto frowned, "Well, there's another option, isn't there? It's possible, but I don't really want to believe it. ...What if we were betrayed?"  
The possibility hung in the air, an unwanted, uncomfortable weight. The idea that there could've been a betrayal - that somebody among them weren't who they said they were was disquieting. But despite it being painful to even consider, it was a needed possibility. If they didn't regard it, then they might not be able to discover why Akira Kurusu had been caught by the police.  
Yusuke said, "How would we find out who did it?"

Morgana was pacing across the table, "Well, I have a bit of an idea of who it could be."  
When nobody replied, he continued, "I might as well just say it… Where's Akechi?"  
Everyone had been preoccupied, and completely missed the newest member's absence. It was a fair point, considering he had only just joined and hadn't contacted any of them since last night.  
"I'll contact him now," Makoto brought out her phone.

_To: Goro Akechi_

_Makoto: Akechi? Where are you? Why aren't you at our meeting?_

_Makoto: We have reasons to suspect you as a traitor._

_Makoto: They're not much, but please reply so they can be eased._

When Morgana pointed out that speculating without evidence wouldn't end well, they sat in tense silence for a few minutes. This was broken by the newcaster announcing that the police had released a statement saying they had apprehended the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Their heads immediately whipped up, needing to take in every detail that the police were willing to make public. The broadcast described what they already knew, how he was caught in the act last night, he was a student, and he currently on probation. As it went on, everyone relaxed a little, the tension of awaiting the announcement gone.  
"I guess now we'll just have to wait for more information," Yusuke sighed.

Sojiro seemed to be glancing up at the monitor every few seconds while washing dishes. As the news went on, there was more and more misinformation. They were talking about how the Phantom Thieves had been the ones to kill Kunikazu Okumura (they hadn't) and how they had caused all the mental breakdowns (which they definitely hadn't). Though they were used to the rampant assumptions, it still was annoying to see them so widely accepted by everyone despite the little basis they had.  
Futaba checked her phone, then told everyone, "And yet again, our 'innocent ranking' has gone down."  
The way she said sounded like it was trying to be humorous, but there was a slightly agitated undertone. That was how most of them felt, wanting to keep the mood up at least somewhat, but really not able to.

At least there was some good news - he hadn't yet revealed the identities of any of them, or any other accomplices like Takemi or Iwai. They hadn't expected him to in the first place, but there was mild relief in the fact that whatever horrible torture methods they were using weren't bad enough to get him to confess their identities. He was staying strong, as they Joker they knew.  
The man on the TV announced there was 'breaking news' once more, and they all looked up to see whatever he had to say. It was quick, matter-of-fact, and completely emotionless. They went on to another segment to discuss it almost immediately. There were no condolences, explanations, or apologies. After all, wasn't it all so simple?

Akira Kurusu, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, _their friend_ , had committed suicide.

There was terrible silence that first took hold of the café when this was announced. There was no way it was true, they didn't know themselves! It had just been announced on television, and they hadn't actually seen his body hit the ground, or heard his final words, or been told by him that he was to die. This was probably some elaborate trick to fool the public into thinking the 'threat' was gone so they could complete palaces without being watched by the police or the public eye.  
"T-This can't be true," Ryuji said.  
Ann muttered, "Of course it isn't. H-He wouldn't do this. There's no way he…"  
Morgana said, "They're lying! He could never do something like this."  
The program continued on. It talked about how this probably was because he didn't want any information to get out about how he did it, or who he was working with. They said that he had stole the guard's gun, shot them, then shot himself. Someone from a hastily-constructed interview said that he was a coward and had deserved to die for the terrible things he had done.

Sojiro stared up at the screen, "This has to be a joke."  
"What if he tricked them?! What if he faked his death, so he could go off the radar, and now…!" Futaba offered hurriedly. She hastily took out her phone and stared at the screen, waiting for a phantom message.  
Haru was shaking, her eyes were affixed on the television, "He planned this, I know it…"  
Going almost completely pallid, Yusuke whispered, "Someone like him… Would never do that."  
Makoto simply held her hand over her mouth, unable to talk.

They all had to believe that this was just another one of his over-the-top ploys. Soon, he would turn up, smiling, safe and sound, and without a hole in his head. They knew him for his unprecedented plans, his unreadable mind, his unexplainable ideas. But there was something brutally simple about what had happened, something that didn't exactly fit into strategies of his calibre. Despite his wild tendencies, there would always be a word to them, assuring them not to worry, that he had it all figured out. Where was it? Even if he hadn't been able to communicate it, he was Akira. He found some way to do things that wouldn't make his teammates stare in shock and horror without any explanation. Maybe they were overestimating him for what he was, maybe there was no genius way to get out of this situation other than a bullet to the head. But there was a single question left.  
How could he do this? How could he do this to everything they had stood for? How could he do this to himself? How could he do this _to them_?

\---

_To: Akira Kurusu_

_Alibaba: You're alive, right?_


	2. Part 1: The Passing Fact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A somewhat unlikely encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovely readers!  
> I'm so sorry that this is late, and even more sorry that it's really short. I've been stumped on it for a while and didn't know how to write the second half, so I've just decided to upload the first half and hopefully will be able to finish the second half and upload it within the month.  
> I'm busy with a lot of other projects, but because the school holidays are coming up here in Australia, I'll probably upload more frequently soon.  
> Enjoy!

_Roleplaying Group  
Topic: Precautions_

_Alibaba: for security reasons, i've changed our usernames and group chat name_

_Skull: Roleplaying group?_

_Alibaba: like, we're nerds who want to be the phantom thieves_

_Alibaba: so we're pretending to be them over a group chat_

_Queen: Why the sudden caution?_

_Alibaba: the news said that they're looking over social media for the phantom thieves_

_Alibaba: so i'm also deleting our chat history from the servers right now_

_Alibaba: it'll take a little time but i'll probably be done before they notice_

_Panther: It's good to be cautious…_

_Fox: Won't you have to delete this chat, too?_

_Fox: Since you're explaining the changes._

_Alibaba: do you think i didn't think of that?_

_Alibaba: gimme a sec, imma close this chat and open a new one_

_(End of chat log.)_

Yusuke hid his phone away again, from where it had been perched precariously on his easel. Luckily nobody had noticed, but it wasn't like he could do anything more that day. The strokes of his brush were uncommon and lifeless, and everyone had noticed this from both yesterday and that day. Only a few teachers had said anything directly to him, but he heard the other students gossiping away. He didn't have the energy to be bothered by them, his mind completely focused on last night's news.  
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and took it out.

_Roleplaying Group  
Topic: Joker_

_Alibaba: you guys probably don't want to talk about this but we need to_

_Queen: We do…_

_Noir: Now?_

_Alibaba: oh yea, you guys are in school_

_Alibaba: but we've talked at this time before_

_Fox: None of my teachers have noticed yet._

_Fox: If they trust us, they mostly let us do what we want._

_Skull: Lucky._

_Alibaba: why would they trust you?_

_Queen: Anyway._

_Queen: Joker…_

_Panther: This has to be a trick._

_Noir: Of course it is._

_Queen: I want to believe in him…_

_Queen: But I'm scared._

_Queen: What do we do if it isn't?_

_Panther: …_

_Skull: There's no way he'd do this!_

_Fox: Besides, the news report said he killed someone else._

_Fox: He would never do that._

_Noir: Exactly._

_Queen: Well, then there's another option._

_Queen: I'm sorry for saying this._

_Queen: I'm hurting too._

_Queen: But we can't continue as who we are without knowing what happened._

_Queen: What if he was murdered?_

_Panther: He_

_Panther: Can we talk about this after school?_

_Alibaba: at hideout_

_(End of chat log.)_

Hands shaking, Yusuke put away the phone for hopefully the last time of the day. The prospect of murder maybe hurt him even more than suicide. He didn't know why, but if Akira had taken his own life, he would at least have had a reason, right? But if it were murder, then it would've been stolen from him, it would've been cruel, it would've been… He didn't want to think about it. Instead, he started to stare at his canvas again.  
The few strokes that had been made were already dry. This was for a class project, a representation of a strong emotion. He had chosen sorrow, and had tried to express it through what had recently happened, but somehow it didn't feel genuine. Despite the fact he felt wounded beyond all measure, there was something intrinsic missing.

He tried to think about his sadness. He didn't even know if he could call it that - it felt more potent than simple sorrow. There was another element. As he focused harder, he realised what it was.  
It was anger.  
He didn't know what he was angry at. Maybe it was himself, or police, or even the world. Or maybe it could be Akira. Whatever it was, he took it, understanding that emotions weren't so black-and-white and were more often than not mixed. They were messy and complicated and blended into each other, like paint. So he put his brush against the canvas and began again.

Suddenly, he couldn't stop. The strokes were aggressive at first, and they progressively got more passive. He was focusing so much on his work that he was no longer paying attention to surroundings, thinking only about his work and Akira. Akira, who had been the one leading the charge to save him from Madarame. Akira, who had helped him out of his art slump. Akira, who had told them all that he would lead them as best as he could. He wanted to believe that he was still alive and living, that he hadn't perished while under control of the police. But there was something within Yusuke that was telling him that it simply wasn't true. As he painted the final stroke he could muster, his heart felt as if it would shatter.  
He wasn't coming back, was he?

Staring at the portrait he had created, he faintly recognised it. You would never be able to connect the dots if you weren't thinking of him, but there was something about the messy hair and the sort-of slim shoulders that was distinct to a certain person. He felt his throat beginning to choke up and tried his very best to stop himself from crying. There would only be more gossip spread about him. The picture was red and violent, but had blue tints splotched around the place. It really did seem to represent sorrow and anger. What kind of an emotion was that? Anguish, maybe... He faintly remembered a day with Akira, not too long ago.

"Are you okay?"  
A calm, feminine voice asked him. When he turned to see who it was, he felt his shoulders relax. Hifumi was looking sadder than usual, looking at him with worry but also some of her own sorrow. Yusuke wondered if something had happened to her, too.  
"I'm fine. It's a personal thing, don't worry about it," he said. They didn't really know each other, and only had talked a few times for school reasons. He didn't think she did art, so he wondered why she was in the room. She sighed and sat down on a nearby chair, "Do you know Akira?"  
Yusuke paused, and went quiet for a moment. Did she know him? He had told the group about her… He vaguely remembered Akira mentioning doing whatever he could to help their infiltrations. Maybe he had consulted her about battle tactics. He replied, "Yes, of course…"

Hifumi gestured towards the painting, "Am I just imagining it, or…"  
He shook his head, "I didn't mean it to be, but I guess it is."  
She stared at it for a while, clearly thinking about something. Eventually she looked at him, and said, "Did… Do you know what Akira does? Not his, uh, job, but his…"  
Yusuke didn't know what to say? Did she know? Had Akira told her? Or was she talking about something else? He didn't know why she would be aware of it, but it didn't seem she could be alluding to something else. There was yet another prolonged silence, before he finally answered.  
"If you're talking about what I think you are, then… Well… I helped him."  
Hifumi gasped, "You're a Pha-"  
She managed to stop herself, but was still staring at him in shock.

Once overcoming her surprise, she glanced at the painting, then at him, and gave him a look of pity.  
"Uh, I'm… Sorry for your loss."  
She awkwardly stood up, but Yusuke said, "Please don't worry about it. Can I ask you something? Why are you in the art room?"  
"I was passing by, then saw the painting. I thought I recognised it, so I couldn't help myself…"  
She sighed and looked at him squarely, "I'm sorry if this is insensitive, but why did he do it?"  
"...Hm?"  
"Why did he commit..."  
Hifumi didn't finish the sentence, but lingered in the air, a dead weight. Yusuke looked away, "I don't know."

She nodded, "I'm sorry."  
And then she was gone.

\---

_Roleplaying Group  
Topic: Crow_

_Queen: Crow replied to me._

_Skull: What did he say?!_

_Queen: I'm coping and pasting as follows -_

_Queen: I'm sorry for not attending the meeting._

_Queen: I've been extraordinarily busy because of the arrest and subsequent death of [Joker]._

_Queen: I will not be able to respond to any messages or attend any meetings._

_Noir: So formal…_

_Fox: Well, he was never that friendly._

_Panther: At least he has an explanation._

_Skull: Still suspicious._

_Alibaba: lets get him to leak us some secret police info_

_Queen: I doubt he would do that._

_Skull: He was never on our side, anyway._

_Noir: Let's talk during the meeting._

_(End of chat log.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I'm sorry for how short this is. I hope you enjoyed nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is mostly build-up, and I think that it's necessary.  
> The reason they gathered at the hideout (when in the game they were still going by their schedules) is that in the game they knew Akira had a plan that they had helped develop. In this story, they have no idea and want to talk about it - or at least be with each other.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments are my fuel and validation, so giving one is highly appreciated. I don't usually beg for this, but I need a self-esteem boost when it comes to my writing so it would be nice to see feedback.


End file.
